BHUBANESWAR l monday l july 20, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l LATE CITY EDITION 12 dead in landslides, flash floods in j&k’s rajouri and poonch dists Eight of a family killed in poonch Eight members of a family were killed when a landslide buried their house in Lower Muran village in the worst-hit Surankote tehsil of Poonch district in the early hours of Sunday. The villagers said the cloudburst struck with terrifying force, giving them little time to react. At least 10 died in Poonch and six are missing. In Rajouri, two persons lost their lives in flash floods At least 12 people were killed on Sunday as heavy rains triggered landslides and flash floods in the twin border districts of Poonch and Rajouri in J&K 8 dead as landslides hit Nagaland’s Mon ■ ■ In another rain-related incident, landslides claimed the lives of at least eight persons in Nagaland’s Mon town on Sunday morning Extensive damage to homes, roads and public infrastructure was reported in Mon, with several areas inundated and major routes blocked by landslides following several hours of heavy rainfall | P8 July 23 moderate to heavy rainfall likely across J&K till Thursday CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI 8 bills listed for monsoon session beginning today Opposition likely to seek answers on Ram temple, NEET, ethanol RAJ E SH K UMAR T HA K UR @ New Delhi (L) Lionel Messi waves to fans before match; Argentina goalkeeper Emi Martínez saves Spain’s Lamine Yamal shot | ap The biggest of them all Argentina and Spain go up against each other for one last time in the most important match of their lives. With the teams fighting it out in the FIFA World Cup final, a look... England’s best in 60 years CJP protest Naveen urges Centre to initiate talks with students E x p r e s s Ne w s Se r v i c e @ Bhubaneswar BJD president Naveen Patnaik on Sunday became the latest political leader to come out in solidarity with the Cockroach Janta Party-led protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, urging the Centre to initiate a dialogue with the agitators and demanding a thorough debate on the examination irregularities issue in the Parliament. The protesters have among their key demands the resignation of Union Education minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the NEET-UG paper leak controversy . Naveen’s statement came in a post on X, a day ahead of the start of the monsoon session of Parliament. “Politics aside, I urge the government to initiate a meaningful dialogue with the students who have been peacefully protesting for days. They must be give n a p l at form to express their views. A vibrant democracy adv a n c e s through dialogue, not silence, and this dialogue is most vital when it involves the yo u t h o f t h e n a t i o n , ” the former chief minister said. Stating that every developed nation is built on a strong education system and a transparent, credible examination process, Naveen said, India too has made remarkable progress on the strength of its education system. “It has nurtured generations of brilliant doctors, scientists, engineers, teachers, and innovators who have shaped modern India,” he said. However, he said, the trust in the system now stands broken and the damage goes far beyond a failed examination. The NEET paper leak episode had shattered faith in the very foundation of the education Continued on P5 system.  T he list of celebrities attending the biggest standalone sporting event in the world spanned 11 pages. Forget all the roads leading to East Rutherford, it seemed that in the hours before the beginning of the final, it seemed like the entirety of the planet had made a beeline for New York/ New Jersey. After a short Opening Ceremony, Lionel Messi’s Argentina, defending champions and aiming to win it for a fourth time, had led his side past the paint and onto the field of play. Likewise Rodri and his Spanish colleagues aim to win their second trophy. At the time of going to press, the scoreline read 0-0 England’s third-place finish is their best ever showing at the World Cup since they won in 1966. The four first half goals they scored was full of verve. By the end, Bukayo Saka had scored a hat-trick and Jude Bellingham scored one of the goals of the tournament to round off a fine campaign for him Delhi HC turns down wife’s plea to move Wangchuk to private hospital UDAYAN K ISHOR E @ New Delhi The Delhi High Court on Sunday held that the Centre’s decision to shift Sonam Wangchuk from Jantar Mantar to Safdarjung Hospital was not arbitrary and refused to intervene. The court was hearing an urgent plea from Gitanjali J Angmo, wife of Wangchuk, seeking permission to transfer the activist to a private hospital. Justice Mini Pushkarna refused to pass any interim orders to interfere with his treatment at the Safdarjung Hospital, where he is said to be continuing his hunger strike. The judge held that since Wangchuk had not voluntarily admitted himself to a hospital despite his condition, the government was within its rights A portrait of Sonam Wangchuk is kept on Jantar Mantar protest stage | PTI to intervene and move him to a hospital. The judge also held that contrary to the petitioner’s claims, Wangchuk had “consented” to the administration madhya pradesh set to introduce Uniform Civil Code bill in Assembly, cabinet clears draft The Madhya Pradesh cabinet on Sunday approved the draft Uniform Civil Code bill, paving the way for a common civil law that will criminalise triple talaq and ‘nikah halala’, prohibit polygamy, and attract 3-month jail term or `10,000 fine for live-in partners if their relationship is not registered within a month | P8 of electrolytes; therefore, his ‘right to bodily autonomy’ had not been violated. Appearing for the petitioner, senior advocate Kapil Sibal said, “He (Wangchuk) is not in detention. There is no case against him. Is a citizen of India not allowed to go to a hospital of his choice?” Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma, appearing for the Centre, cited the July 16 order of the court directing the Union and Delhi governments to monitor Wangchuk’s health on a daily basis. Meanwhile, a health bulletin issued by Safdarjung Hospital and VMMC on Sunday said Wangchuk’s vital parameters were stable and his blood parameters had shown marginal improvement. THE monsoon session of Parliament commencing on Monday is expected to witness a turbulent start, with the Opposition preparing to corner the BJP-led NDA government on a host of contentious issues. Despite the anticipated disruptions, the government has drawn up an extensive legislative agenda for the session. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju informed journalists on Sunday that eight key Bills have been listed for consideration in this session, which will run from July 20 to August 13. The topics expected to dominate proceedings from the outset include the alleged donation theft at the Ayodhya Ram Temple, NEET-UG examination paper leak, and the controversies around ethanol blending. Among the major Bills scheduled for debate is the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026, which has been allocated four hours for discussion. The Income Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2026, will be debated for three hours in the Lok Sabha. The other important legislative proposals include the Supreme Court (Number of Judg es) Bill on Vande Amendment Bill, 2026; the Mataram Registration of Births and Deaths (Amendment) Union Home Bill, 2026; the Micro, Small Minister Amit Shah and Medium Enterprises is set to introduce Development (Amendthe Prevention ment) Bill, 2026; and the of Insults to Prevention of Insults to National Honour National Honour (Amend(Amendment) Bill, ment) Bill, 2026. in the Rajya Sabha Meanwhile, the Lok on Monday, which Sabha’s Business Advisoproposes a 3-year ry Committee, chaired by jail term, a fine, or the Speaker, met on Sunboth, for insulting day to finalise the allocathe national song tion of time for debates on the Bills listed for the session. The committee earmarked specific durations for discussion on several significant pieces of legislation. The Speaker appealed to all parties to cooperate for a smooth and orderly session so that issues concerning people can be discussed in a productive manner. Before the formal commencement of business, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to deliver his customary address to the media within the Parliament complex. He is likely to appeal to all political parties to extend their cooperation in ensuring the smooth functioning of both Houses. express read BJD backs smooth Parliament session Relentless rains flood farmlands, one dead Bhubaneswar: Even as Opposition parties have geared up for a combative monsoon session of Parliament, the BJD has struck a different note, announcing it will cooperate for smooth functioning of the House while raising issues concerning Odisha. The BJD had joined other Opposition parties in opposing the Delimitation Bill in the Rajya Sabha in April | P3 Jagatsinghpur : Three days of incessant rainfall have submerged farmlands and damaged vegetable crops across the district, leaving one person dead. The deceased is Ratanakar Behera of Gandikipur village in Kujang. On Saturday morning, Behera was taking out his bicycle when the mud wall of his house reportedly collapsed on him due to heavy rain | P4 historic RETURN Sindhu returns to top with Japan Open crown a n m o l g u r u n g @ Chennai BADMINTON great PV Sindhu has created many miracles in her decorated career but not so long ago, it seemed her old magical form deserted the shuttler. For someone used to dictating terms, she was in danger of being reduced to obscurity for a considerable period. Small niggles would constantly frustrate her as her results on the court turned ordinary. Forget titles, getting a victory itself had become a challenge. Despite all the negative energy Sindhu, with the support , system around her, continued to dig deep into her available resources behind the scenes. It was a step-by-step process for her. It was a painful watch but as has been the case throughout her career, she never gave up. On Sunday the 31-year-old fi, nally let out a beaming smile. There was a twinkle in her eyes as she could call herself a winner again. That was after a vintage display against A k a n e Ya m a g u c h i , whom she beat 21-17, 2117, at the Japan Open final. For India, it was a first in the tournament’s chequered history. For Sindhu, it meant the world. This title had come after 595 days — an indic at o r o f h e r struggles. “You hear a lot of things happening but more than giving a reply I would just want to , say that I believed in myself. Yes, it had been a long time. This title was very important. It was long-awaited. This gives me a lot of confidence and belief that I can do it and it’s not over yet,” Sindhu said in an interaction facilitated by BAI. Recalling her ordeal, Sindhu admitted that she had entered a phase where she had started to doubt herself but with the help of coaches and other support staff members, s h e s o l d i e re d on.  “When you have an injury, you doubt yourself. Like what is happening? Can I come back stronger? Will this niggle be alright or can I give my 100 per cent. These were the thoughts and emotions that were going on. When you’re injured, you get a lot of thoughts like sometimes you’ re emotionally drained or mentally low. These things came to my mind, but at the same time people around me have supported me and motivated me saying, ‘it’s okay, you’ll come back stronger’. For me, it was just about taking one day at a time. Slowly, slowly, I started getting better.” This win is a clear indicator that she is getting better and it’s a timely boost for India ahead of the World ChampionP11 ships in New Delhi.  Union Ministers Kiren Rijiju, Rajnath Singh and J P Nadda at the all-party meeting on Sunday in New Delhi | PTI Oppn stages walkout from all-party meet RAJ E SH K UMAR T HA K UR @ New Delhi OPPOSITION leaders staged a symbolic walkout from the government’s all-party meeting on Sunday, a day before the monsoon session begins, protesting the invitation to rebel Trinamool Congress (TMC) MPs who joined the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI). The Opposition later returned for the meet, pressing for discussions on the donation theft at Ayodhya, the NEET paper leak, and ethanolpetrol blending — the principal issues raised, as per Congress leader Pramod Tiwari. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said Parliament should function smoothly urg, ing the Opposition to “oppose through debate, not by creating chaos and protests.” He cited eight listed Bills and defended inviting the rebel MPs since the NCPI had sought recognition from the Speaker. The protest also centred on Speaker Om Birla’s decisions to allot separate seats to the rebel TMC MPs and approve the Shiv Sena (UBT) merger with Eknath Shinde’s faction. TMC MP Mahua Moitra said the “so-called NCPI” was unrecognised, with 20 disqualification petitions still pending. “On what grounds did the Parliamentary Affairs Minister extend an invitation to these 20 rebel MPs and how are they attending this meeting? We have registered our symbolic protest and walked out,” she said. Shiv Sena (UBT)’s Arvind Sawant cited the same reason for walkout. AAP’s N D Gupta alleged seven Rajya Sabha MPs were “hijacked” by BJP. Congress’s Gaurav Gogoi demanded that Parliament discuss the Ayodhya donation theft, questioning the government’s silence. Egg prices surge to record high in Odisha as chicken mortality squeezes supply Gulf, African and other Asian markets, where demand has Egg prices in the state have strengthened amid the ongohit an all-time high of `9 a ing strife. piece, fuelled by strong domesThe reopening of schools tic and export demand and has further boosted consumpsupply disruptions due to heat- tion. The state now supplies induced chicken mortality this eggs three times a week, on summer. Mondays, WednesTraders said they days and Fridays, to are procuring eggs more than 57 lakh stufrom poultry farms at dents under the supProduction was around `7.15 to `7.20 a plementary nutrition affected due to piece while wholesale component of the PM the large-scale prices have risen to POSHAN (mid-day death of poultry `8.5 per egg, translatmeal) scheme. Since ing to `255-`260 per birds in the harsh April 1, 2025, students summer this year, tray of 30. The retail of Classes IX and X leading to price, which was `7 availability crunch h a v e a l s o b e e n per egg till end of brought under the June, has now climbed Gokulananda Mallik, programme, expandFisheries & Animal to `9 putting additioning institutional Husbandry minister al pressure on housedemand. Fisheries and Anihold food budgets that have already been strained by mal Resources Development Minister Gokulananda Mallik rising vegetable prices. Poultry far mers blamed said the price rise was the reprice hike of maize and soy- sult of multiple demand and bean meal, aggravated by the supply factors. “The demand ongoing West Asia conflict and for eggs has increased signifiethanol demand along with un- cantly within Odisha and outside the state. Production was precedented mortality of chicken during this summer affected due to the large-scale death of poultry birds in the for lower egg production. The surge comes amid a harsh summer this year, leading to availability crunch,” he sharp increase in exports of Continued on P5 Indian eggs, particularly to said.  B i j o y P r a d h a n @ Bhubaneswar